


Memories of Him

by jolimelon



Category: Battle Royale - All Media Types, Battle Royale - Takami Koushun
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:07:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25531816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jolimelon/pseuds/jolimelon
Summary: Witnessing the death of Tatsumichi Oki inspires a memory to reoccur to Kyoichi Motobuchi.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 2





	Memories of Him

Kyoichi Motobuchi's class wasn't supposed to be in the program. It wasn't fair. 

A dutiful citizen, a compliant son, and a devoted student. He had done everything that he was supposed to do while keeping all of his complaints to himself. His father had done everything was he was supposed to do- he even served the government, putting the importance of his job over spending time with his family. His mother was the poster woman for the perfect Shiroiwa wife- putting aside her dreams for family needs, and never earning more money than her husband to preserve his pride. Still, she was an intelligent woman. She taught Kyoichi everything that schools hadn't, helping him gain multiple grade levels above his peers from a young age. 

Still, no matter how many sleepless nights he'd spent study, no matter how many social events he'd missed, and no matter how many opportunities he'd lost to make friends in order to put school first- he was no longer the number one student in his final two years of junior high. To top things off, his lifetime of hard work and sacrifice was being paid off with this- becoming a participant in the program.

His hard work went to waste. He wasn't going to be saved. He was going to die if he didn't fight. 

He didn't have any friends. 

He didn't have...

Any friends.

Just in front of him stood a horrifying scene. Shuya Nanahara, the obnoxious guitar-slinging heart throb was drilling an axe deep into the skull of Tatsumichi Oki. Kind-hearted and innocent Tatsumichi Oki.

Kyoichi had managed to survive the night without any incidents. He'd seen two deaths in the classroom, committed by the government he had been conditioned to obey and uphold, but outside were where the real horrors occurred- the murders committed by his own classmates. The bodies of Mayumi Tendo and Yoshio Akamatsu were proof of that.

As soon as he had seen them, something had shifted. He ran as far as he could, spending the night shifting throughout an open field- hiding in plain sight. Maybe it wasn't the wisest idea. No, it definitely wasn't. But he couldn't risk hiding in the more obvious locations like inside buildings, because then he was at a higher risk of being in close contact with a classmate. A classmate that wanted to kill him. At least in the open field he could run- or fight, if necessary.

Still, he'd spent the night in fear, clutching his usually neat hair until it was a tangled mess. Again and again, the scenes played in his mind. His classmates, dead and gone, and even more dying not all that far away. 

And then, the death of Tatsumichi Oki, right in front of his own eyes. There was no mistaking it. He was dead- and Shuya Nanahara had killed him.

Usually, Kyoichi would be less impulsive- he would continue to hide, or to at least calculate his attack carefully, but he had no time for that. By the time his mind could catch up with him, he was holding his revolver forward, with Shuya Nanahara standing on the other end. 

_I'll kill you, you bastard,_ Kyoichi thought to himself, _I'll kill you for Tatsumichi Oki!_

* * *

It was the spring of their second year of Junior High. Kyoichi was carrying a stack of papers from the classroom down to the teachers office. Passing him was Kiriyama's brutish gaggle of goons, one of whom extended a hand and knocked the papers over before Kyoichi even had the time to figure out who had done it. They hurried off in a rush of laughter, followed closely by the usual clique of jocks, who pretended they hadn't seen anything at all. 

As the papers fluttered down to the first floor, Kyoichi saw only one person stop at the bottom of the stairs. 

Tatsumichi Oki, who threw his arms up, was catching as many fluttering papers as he could. He looked somehow amused by it, as if this were a game and he'd win a prize for most papers caught. Kyoichi stood idly by and watched the wide-mouthed grin from the boy, before he knelt down, picking up the papers off the ground.

Kyoichi himself was annoyed, as was always the case when dealing with the delinquents and jocks of the class, but Tatsumichi laughed while he sped up to pick up the remaining papers that he hadn't managed to catch. He began an ascent up the stairs, picking up papers off each step as he made his way up. He had collected them at such a speed that by the time he got to Kyoichi, he had a hefty stack, whereas Kyoichi himself still remained on the same landing. 

"I appreciate it," Kyoichi mumbled, collecting the stack from Tatsumichi.

"No problem, dude," Tatsumichi continued to grin, "Uhh, those were in order, huh? I guess I kinda screwed 'em up..." 

"They were," Kyoichi answered, "However, it wasn't you that caused them to become unorganized."

"Oh okay," Tatsumichi responded, "Lemme help ya organize 'em!"

Somewhat awkwardly, Kyoichi replied, "I'm sure you have a sport to attend to, or something that you deem of more importance." 

"Nah, it's fine!" Tatsumichi replied simply.

"Alright..." Kyoichi mumbled awkwardly. His interactions with his peers rarely extended beyond the actual classroom, so speaking to one now was frankly- quite strange. 

The two walked down the stairs, and made their way to the teacher's office. Tatsumichi spoke quite a bit on the way over, and Kyoichi scarcely replied with anything more than an "Ah." or an "Alright." The boy didn't seem to notice or mind, and continued talking regardless.

Once they arrived, Kyoichi set the stack of papers on a vacant table, spreading them into several smaller piles. 

"They're numbered at the top," Kyoichi explained, "They should be stacked from number one to number one-hundred."

"Easy peasy, we got this, dude!" Tatsumichi replied eagerly, grabbing a stack in his hand and quickly getting to work. "82....85....90... Huh, looks like I'm missin' some here." 

"I've got 83 right here," Kyoichi said, passing it to Tatsumichi. 

"Woohoo!" Tatsumichi replied, perhaps too enthusiastically, "It's like we're doin' a lil puzzle together, dude! This is fun! What numbers you got?!"

"Ah, I've got 3, 7, 10, 13, thus far." Kyoichi replied, picking up another sheet, "Now, number 1 as well." 

"Alright, whoever gets more of 'em sorted first wins!"

Despite not being a fan of competition (because he himself was far too competitive) Kyoichi couldn't help but quicken his pace as he sorted sheets. In no time at all, he had 1-70 stacked in neat order, while Tatsumichi scrambled to get the remainder done.

"Huh..." Tatsumichi mumbled, scratching his cheek in confusion. 

"What is it? Have you lost count?" Kyoichi asked. 

"Nah, I don't think so... Uhhh…" Tatsumichi handed the sheets to Kyoichi, "97 isn't there!"

Kyoichi flipped through the sheets to confirm- sure enough, ninty-seven was missing. 

"We must have left it in the stairwell," Kyoichi explained, "Perhaps we didn't notice it."

"Come on then, lets get it!" Tatsumichi exclaimed. He grabbed Kyoichi's wrist in his hand, and began to sprint throughout the hallway while the class president struggled to keep up with him.

"O-Oki-kun, there is no running in the hallways!" Kyoichi proclaimed, wondering how on earth he hadn't lost his footing yet. Even so, Tatsumichi didn't stop running. He probably didn't even hear Kyoichi's protests over his own loud laughter.

Soon enough, they had arrived to the stairwell, and began to search for the missing paper. Tatsumichi walked up a few steps, and began looking around, while Kyoichi remained on the floor level.

Kyoichi eyed the entire floor, taking a few steps up and checking between the railings as well. Tatsumichi had already gone up the adjacent set of stairs, suddenly letting out an excited yelp. Kyoichi froze in place. 

"I got it, dude! I got it!" 

Peeking over the stair railing with a wide grin on his face, Tatsumichi appeared to be glowing against the orange rays of sun beaming in through the window.

Then, a rare occurrence happened. 

Kyoichi, who normally went through life with an expression carved out of stone, found the corners of his lips twitching into a meek smile. 

"Great job, Oki-kun," Kyoichi responded, "Now we can complete the competition. I suppose this makes you the winner." 

With a laugh, Tatsumichi descended down the stairs and Kyoichi could hardly take his eyes away from how he glowed. 

"Nah, you totally got me beat, bro," Tatsumichi replied, "You're number one!"

Although it was a throwaway comment that Tatsumichi likely hadn't put much thought into, Kyoichi took it to heart. Never before had he been number one, despite his best efforts. No matter how miniscule their little competition was, he was proud to be number one somehow.

"Y'know what that means?" Tatsumichi asked, and when Kyoichi shook his head, he added, "We gotta run again! Woohoo!!" 

Once again taking Kyoichi's wrist in his hand, Tatsumichi sprinted down the hallways one more time. Only now, Kyoichi didn't bother to lecture him about it.

* * *

Even as bullets split through Kyoichi's body, his own hand ripped from his body, he looked at Shuya Nanahara with a rage-induced determination. 

_I will live through this. I will survive no matter what,_ Kyoichi thought to himself, _and I will avenge Tatsumichi Oki!_

As Kyoichi's pulled the revolver from his own severed hand, his resolve was stronger than it had ever been in his life. Even as the final fatal shot was delivered, Kyoichi's body seized and fought with all of his power to try and move, too enraged to feel the pain.

His head fell to the side and he saw it again, albeit briefly, the image of Tatsumichi Oki as he had seen him at the school, laughing excitedly while wagging the missing sheet of paper high into the air. 

_"Y'know what that means?" Tatsumichi called out to him from a distance, dressed in all black as if attending his own funeral._

_Kyoichi stood slowly with a stumble and looked down, seeing that he was dressed similarly. The field around them was now empty. No Shuya Nanahara, no Shogo Kawada. Only the two of them._

_Kyoichi looked back to Tatsumichi, and though he knew he should be scared, he was instead comforted by the warmth of his smile._

_"What does it mean?" Kyoichi asked, even though he knew the answer._

_Oki laughed a bit, extending his hand out to the other boy._

_"We gotta run again!"_


End file.
